Censorship

I have been in the habit of posting a link to my daily blog posts to The Practical Humanist Facebook page. Part of my routine has been drawing or culling an illustration for my post which would be appealing as an icon for my link on Facebook. A touch of color and whimsy added to usually abstract concepts in my essays.

This changed last week when I was apparently blocked from posting links on Facebook. The blocking has persisted through the weekend. I hesitate to test my ability to post now. Facebook's instructions indicate that their blocking mechanism is cumulative: If you try to post once you are blocked, you get more blocked time added to your exile. This is like being placed in a Southern U.S. jail, where you can get a life sentence for trying to escape, even if the original alleged offense was a misdemeanor.

This is all done in the most anonymous and cowardly way, of course. I have received no notification or response from Facebook other than an acknowledgment, generated automatically, that I did write seeking some information concerning my situation. In other words, it seems anyone can get you blocked without anyone seriously investigating this and responding to objections about being blocked.

This is how dictatorships or totalitarian bureaucracies work, of course. It is indeed ironic. Facebook is often credited with facilitating revolution against this same behavior in parts of the world where dictators and juntas rule. The technology itself is apparently capable of promoting networking for good. However, there is obviously something amiss with the human administration of a company which must operate by shadowy methods to maintain its standards.

I do not depend on Facebook for expressing my ideas. I do not advertise on Facebook. I make no money from using Facebook's services. I have generally appreciated the opportunity afforded by Facebook to network with people. Despite this current situation, I think Facebook is a good idea.

This all illustrates to me how corporate capitalism, aided by technology, inevitably becomes impersonal. Yet, its impact on individual lives can be highly personal. It can also be manipulated by those who wish to practice anonymous harassment or to silence ideas with which they disagree. My own daily practice will persist with or without Facebook. I have been publishing on the Web since 1998. The writing aspect of my practice is something I do as practice, not as publicity.

Censorship by a large institution without recourse can be a symptom of disease and/or corruption. This form of censorship on Facebook echoes the hypocrisy which comes with peer pressure to be 'politically correct' in any conformist organization. The use of shunning or gagging controversial speech to prevent the exposure of injustice, irrationality or unfairness is an ancient technique to obstruct true progress. Anyone who has a committed humanist practice will encounter disapproval in a world where war, greed, superstition and inequality are accepted as norms.